The 1973–74 FA Cup was the 93rd season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Liverpool won the competition for only the second time, beating Newcastle United 3–0 in the final at Wembley, London.

1973–74 FA Cup
Tournament details
Country England
 Wales
Defending championsSunderland
Final positions
ChampionsLiverpool (2nd title)
Runner-upNewcastle United
Third placeBurnley
Fourth placeLeicester City

Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. Some matches, however, might be rescheduled for other days if there were clashes with games for other competitions or the weather was inclement. In this season matches were allowed to be played on Sundays for the first time. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.

Calendar edit

Round Date
Preliminary round Saturday 1 September 1973
First round qualifying Saturday 15 September 1973
Second round qualifying Saturday 6 October 1973
Third round qualifying Saturday 20 October 1973
Fourth round qualifying Saturday 3 November 1973
First round proper Saturday 24 November 1973
Second round proper Saturday 15 December 1973
Third round proper Saturday 5 January 1974
Fourth round proper Saturday 26 January 1974
Fifth round proper Saturday 16 February 1974
Sixth round proper Saturday 9 March 1974
Semi-finals Saturday 30 March 1974
Final Saturday 4 May 1974

Results edit

First round proper edit

At this stage clubs from the Football League Third and Fourth Divisions joined 28 non-league clubs having come through the qualifying rounds. To complete this round, Scarborough, Wigan Athletic, Walton & Hersham and Slough Town were given byes as finalists of FA Trophy and FA Amateur Cup of the last season. Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 24 November 1973. Ten matches were drawn and went to replays.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1 Chester 1–0 Telford United 24 November 1973
2 Chesterfield 0–0 Barnsley 24 November 1973
Replay Barnsley 2–1 Chesterfield 28 November 1973
3 Bournemouth 1–0 Charlton Athletic 24 November 1973
4 Banbury United 0–0 Northampton Town 24 November 1973
Replay Northampton Town 3–2 Banbury United 29 November 1973
5 Rochdale 2–0 South Shields 24 November 1973
6 Watford 1–0 Chelmsford City 24 November 1973
7 Weymouth 0–1 Merthyr Tydfil 24 November 1973
8 Reading 3–0 Slough Town 24 November 1973
9 Walsall 1–0 Swansea City 24 November 1973
10 Crewe Alexandra 0–0 Scarborough 24 November 1973
Replay Scarborough 2–1 Crewe Alexandra 28 November 1973
11 Doncaster Rovers 1–0 Lincoln City 24 November 1973
12 Wrexham 1–1 Shrewsbury Town 24 November 1973
Replay Shrewsbury Town 0–1 Wrexham 27 November 1973
13 Tranmere Rovers 2–1 Bury 24 November 1973
14 Stockport County 0–1 Port Vale 24 November 1973
15 Wycombe Wanderers 3–1 Newport County 24 November 1973
16 King's Lynn 1–0 Wimbledon 24 November 1973
17 Plymouth Argyle 2–1 Brentford 24 November 1973
18 Bradford City 2–0 Workington 24 November 1973
19 Hitchin Town 1–1 Guildford City 24 November 1973
Replay Guildford City 1–4 Hitchin Town 28 November 1973
20 Altrincham 2–0 Hartlepool 24 November 1973
21 Southend United 3–0 Boreham Wood 24 November 1973
22 Exeter City 0–1 Alvechurch 24 November 1973
23 Scunthorpe United 1–0 Darlington 24 November 1973
24 Huddersfield Town 2–0 Wigan Athletic 24 November 1973
25 Alfreton Town 0–0 Blyth Spartans 24 November 1973
Replay Blyth Spartans 2–1 Alfreton Town 28 November 1973
26 Willington 0–0 Blackburn Rovers 24 November 1973
Replay Blackburn Rovers 6–1 Willington 3 December 1973
27 Halifax Town 6–1 Frickley Colliery 24 November 1973
28 Runcorn 0–1 Grimsby Town 24 November 1973
29 York City 0–0 Mansfield Town 24 November 1973
Replay Mansfield Town 5–3 York City 10 December 1973
30 Hereford United 3–1 Torquay United 24 November 1973
31 Rotherham United 2–1 Southport 24 November 1973
32 Bideford 0–2 Bristol Rovers 24 November 1973
33 Boston United 0–0 Hayes 24 November 1973
Replay Hayes 1–2 Boston United 28 November 1973
34 Formby 0–2 Oldham Athletic 24 November 1973
35 Colchester United 2–3 Peterborough United 24 November 1973
36 Walton & Hersham 0–0 Brighton & Hove Albion 24 November 1973
Replay Brighton & Hove Albion 0–4 Walton & Hersham 28 November 1973
37 Hendon 3–0 Leytonstone 24 November 1973
38 Dagenham 0–4 Aldershot 24 November 1973
39 Cambridge United 3–2 Gillingham 24 November 1973
40 Hillingdon Borough 0–4 Grantham 24 November 1973

Second round proper edit

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 15 December 1973. Five matches were drawn, with replays taking place later the same week.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1 Chester 3–2 Huddersfield Town 15 December 1973
2 Alvechurch 6–1 King's Lynn 15 December 1973
3 Grantham 1–1 Rochdale 15 December 1973
Replay Rochdale 3–5 Grantham 18 December 1973
4 Watford 0–1 Bournemouth 15 December 1973
5 Blackburn Rovers 0–0 Altrincham 15 December 1973
Replay Altrincham 0–2 Blackburn Rovers 19 December 1973
6 Grimsby Town 1–1 Blyth Spartans 15 December 1973
Replay Blyth Spartans 0–2 Grimsby Town 19 December 1973
7 Doncaster Rovers 3–0 Tranmere Rovers 15 December 1973
8 Wrexham 3–0 Rotherham United 15 December 1973
9 Wycombe Wanderers 1–3 Peterborough United 15 December 1973
10 Barnsley 1–1 Bradford City 15 December 1973
Replay Bradford City 2–1 Barnsley 19 December 1973
11 Northampton Town 1–2 Bristol Rovers 15 December 1973
12 Plymouth Argyle 1–0 Walsall 15 December 1973
13 Southend United 2–0 Reading 15 December 1973
14 Mansfield Town 1–1 Scunthorpe United 15 December 1973
Replay Scunthorpe United 1–0 Mansfield Town 18 December 1973
15 Port Vale 2–1 Scarborough 15 December 1973
16 Halifax Town 0–1 Oldham Athletic 15 December 1973
17 Hereford United 3–0 Walton & Hersham 15 December 1973
18 Aldershot 1–2 Cambridge United 15 December 1973
19 Boston United 1–0 Hitchin Town 15 December 1973
20 Merthyr Tydfil 0–3 Hendon 15 December 1973

Third round proper edit

The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for the weekend of 5–6 January 1974. Thirteen matches were drawn, of which one required a second replay. Holders Sunderland were eliminated by Carlisle United.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1 Bristol City 1–1 Hull City 5 January 1974
Replay Hull City 0–1 Bristol City 8 January 1974
2 Grantham 0–2 Middlesbrough 5 January 1974
3 Liverpool 2–2 Doncaster Rovers 5 January 1974
Replay Doncaster Rovers 0–2 Liverpool 8 January 1974
4 Southampton 2–1 Blackpool 5 January 1974
5 Leicester City 1–0 Tottenham Hotspur 5 January 1974
6 Nottingham Forest 4–3 Bristol Rovers 6 January 1974
7 Aston Villa 3–1 Chester 5 January 1974
8 Sheffield Wednesday 0–0 Coventry City 5 January 1974
Replay Coventry City 3–1 Sheffield Wednesday 8 January 1974
9 Bolton Wanderers 3–2 Stoke City 6 January 1974
10 Grimsby Town 0–2 Burnley 5 January 1974
11 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 Leeds United 5 January 1974
Replay Leeds United 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 9 January 1974
12 West Bromwich Albion 4–0 Notts County 5 January 1974
13 Derby County 0–0 Boston United 5 January 1974
Replay Boston United 1–6 Derby County 9 January 1974
14 Everton 3–0 Blackburn Rovers 5 January 1974
15 Ipswich Town 3–2 Sheffield United 5 January 1974
16 Newcastle United 1–1 Hendon 5 January 1974
Replay Hendon 0–4 Newcastle United 9 January 1974
17 Fulham 1–0 Preston North End 5 January 1974
18 Portsmouth 3–3 Swindon Town 5 January 1974
Replay Swindon Town 0–1 Portsmouth 9 January 1974
19 West Ham United 1–1 Hereford United 5 January 1974
Replay Hereford United 2–1 West Ham United 9 January 1974
20 Manchester United 1–0 Plymouth Argyle 5 January 1974
21 Norwich City 0–1 Arsenal 5 January 1974
22 Bradford City 4–2 Alvechurch 6 January 1974
23 Millwall 1–1 Scunthorpe United 5 January 1974
Replay Scunthorpe United 1–0 Millwall 8 January 1974
24 Carlisle United 0–0 Sunderland 5 January 1974
Replay Sunderland 0–1 Carlisle United 9 January 1974
25 Crystal Palace 0–2 Wrexham 5 January 1974
26 Chelsea 0–0 Queens Park Rangers 5 January 1974
Replay Queens Park Rangers 1–0 Chelsea 15 January 1974
27 Port Vale 1–1 Luton Town 5 January 1974
Replay Luton Town 4–2 Port Vale 9 January 1974
28 Peterborough United 3–1 Southend United 5 January 1974
29 Birmingham City 5–2 Cardiff City 5 January 1974
30 Cambridge United 2–2 Oldham Athletic 6 January 1974
Replay Oldham Athletic 3–3 Cambridge United 8 January 1974
Replay Cambridge United 1–2 Oldham Athletic 14 January 1974
31 Oxford United 2–5 Manchester City 5 January 1974
32 Orient 2–1 Bournemouth 5 January 1974

Fourth round proper edit

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 26 January 1974. Four matches were, however, played the day after. Eight matches were drawn, of which one, the tie between Portsmouth and Leyton Orient, required a second replay.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1 Liverpool 0–0 Carlisle United 26 January 1974
Replay Carlisle United 0–2 Liverpool 29 January 1974
2 Southampton 3–3 Bolton Wanderers 26 January 1974
Replay Bolton Wanderers 0–2 Southampton 30 January 1974
3 Nottingham Forest 4–1 Manchester City 27 January 1974
4 Luton Town 3–0 Bradford City 26 January 1974
5 Everton 0–0 West Bromwich Albion 27 January 1974
Replay West Bromwich Albion 1–0 Everton 30 January 1974
6 Wrexham 1–0 Middlesbrough 26 January 1974
7 Newcastle United 1–1 Scunthorpe United 26 January 1974
Replay Scunthorpe United 0–3 Newcastle United 30 January 1974
8 Queens Park Rangers 2–0 Birmingham City 26 January 1974
9 Fulham 1–1 Leicester City 26 January 1974
Replay Leicester City 2–1 Fulham 30 January 1974
10 Coventry City 0–0 Derby County 27 January 1974
Replay Derby County 0–1 Coventry City 30 January 1974
11 Portsmouth 0–0 Orient 27 January 1974
Replay Orient 1–1 Portsmouth 29 January 1974
Replay Portsmouth 2–0 Orient 5 February 1974
12 Manchester United 0–1 Ipswich Town 26 January 1974
13 Oldham Athletic 1–4 Burnley 26 January 1974
14 Arsenal 1–1 Aston Villa 26 January 1974
Replay Aston Villa 2–0 Arsenal 30 January 1974
15 Hereford United 0–1 Bristol City 26 January 1974
16 Peterborough United 1–4 Leeds United 26 January 1974

Fifth round proper edit

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 16 February 1974 with one taking place the day after. Two matches were drawn and went to replays.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1 Bristol City 1–1 Leeds United 16 February 1974
Replay Leeds United 0–1 Bristol City 19 February 1974
2 Burnley 1–0 Aston Villa 16 February 1974
3 Liverpool 2–0 Ipswich Town 16 February 1974
4 Southampton 0–1 Wrexham 16 February 1974
5 Nottingham Forest 1–0 Portsmouth 17 February 1974
6 West Bromwich Albion 0–3 Newcastle United 16 February 1974
7 Luton Town 0–4 Leicester City 16 February 1974
8 Coventry City 0–0 Queens Park Rangers 16 February 1974
Replay Queens Park Rangers 3–2 Coventry City 19 February 1974

Sixth round proper edit

The four quarter-final ties were played on 9 March 1974.

Newcastle United pitch invasion edit

The first Newcastle United–Nottingham Forest game at St James' Park was won 4–3 by Newcastle. However, early in the second half Nottingham Forest went 3–1 up from a penalty awarded by the referee, Gordon Kew, who also sent off Newcastle's defender Pat Howard for protesting the decision. The Newcastle United fans in the Leazes End of the ground (now the Sir John Hall stand) invaded the pitch. Two Nottingham Forest players were injured in the debacle, but the referee waited until all players were recovered and received the permission of both managers to continue the tie. Newcastle managed to come back and win with a late goal by their captain, Bobby Moncur, in spite of the two-goal and one-player deficit.[1] Up to 23 people were taken to hospital as a result of the pitch invasion, of whom two had fractured skulls; another 103 people were treated at the ground and 39 arrests were made.[2]

Following the riot, a written protest was sent from Nottingham Forest to the FA on 11 March. In response, the secretary of the FA, Ted Croker, announced that a special four-man subcommittee of the Challenge Cup Committee who oversee the FA Cup competition were to investigate the incident, stating, "Newcastle could be disqualified. We do not have the power to order a replay as the game was completed."[2] On 14 March the subcommittee ruled that, in spite of Mr. Croker's comments, the match was to be replayed, at the neutral venue of Goodison Park on Monday 18 March. If that match was drawn then extra time would be played and, if needed, another match at a neutral venue would be played the following Thursday. This decision was unprecedented at the time and the reaction was mixed, with Newcastle's defender Frank Clark suggesting that their comeback should have allowed them to go through outright. The Nottingham Forest captain Bob Chapman stated, "we would have won it fair and square but for the trouble."[3]

The first replay was a nervous 0–0 draw after extra time, although Newcastle hit the woodwork three times.[4] Newcastle finally won the tie through a single Malcolm Macdonald goal in the second replay, also at Goodison Park.[5]

Results edit

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1 Bristol City 0–1 Liverpool 9 March 1974
2 Burnley 1–0 Wrexham 9 March 1974
3 Newcastle United 4–3
(Match void)
Nottingham Forest 9 March 1974
Replay Newcastle United 0–0 Nottingham Forest 18 March 1974
Replay Newcastle United 1–0 Nottingham Forest 21 March 1974
4 Queens Park Rangers 0–2 Leicester City 9 March 1974

Semi-finals edit

The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 30 March 1974 with the Liverpool–Leicester City game being replayed four days later. Liverpool and Newcastle United won their respective matches to go on to the final at Wembley.

Newcastle United2–0Burnley
Macdonald   65, 75' Report

Replay edit

Leicester City1–3Liverpool
Glover   49' Report Hall   46'
Keegan   61'
Toshack   86'

Third place playoff edit

Between 1970 and 1974, a third place playoff between the two losing semi-finalists was held.[6]

Leicester City0–1Burnley
Hankin  
Attendance: 4,432

Final edit

The final took place on Saturday, 4 May 1974 at Wembley and ended in a victory for Liverpool over Newcastle United by three goals to nil. Two goals were scored by Kevin Keegan and one by Steve Heighway. The attendance was 100,000.

Liverpool3–0Newcastle United
Keegan   57, 88'
Heighway   74'
Report
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: Gordon Kew
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liverpool
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Newcastle

TV Coverage edit

The right to show FA Cup games were, as with Football League matches, shared between the BBC and ITV network. All games were shown in a highlights format, except the Final, which was shown live both on BBC1 & ITV. The BBC football highlights programme Match Of The Day would show up to three games and the various ITV regional network stations would cover up to one game and show highlights from other games covered elsewhere on the ITV network. No games from Rounds 1 or 2 were shown. Burnley banned TV Coverage of the R5 tie v Aston Villa which was due to be one of the ITV televised ties and shown by Granada and the quarter-final tie v Wrexham which was due to be shown on BBC MOTD, they showed a League game instead between Derby County v West Ham United as well as the Queens Park Rangers v Leicester Quarter-final. Burnley and Chairman Bob Lord also tried to stop the semi-final being covered by ITV but couldn't as the game was played at neutral Sheffield Wednesday. Third round BBC Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United, West Ham United v Hereford United, Manchester United v Plymouth Argyle, Hendon v Newcastle United (Midweek-replay played in the Afternoon at Watford), Hereford United v West Ham United (Midweek replay played in the afternoon) ITV Chelsea v Queens Park Rangers (LWT), Everton v Blackburn Rovers (Granada), Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur ATV), Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry City (Yorkshire), Newcastle United v Hendon (Tyne-Tees), Peterborough United v Southend United (Anglia) Fourth round BBC Queens Park Rangers v Birmingham City, Fulham v Leicester City, Manchester United v Ipswich Town ITV Arsenal v Aston Villa (LWT & ATV), Peterborough United v Leeds United (Anglia Yorkshire),Liverpool v Carlisle United (Granada), Newcastle United v Scunthorpe United (Tyne-Tees), Aston Villa v Arsenal(Midweek-replay shown in all regions) Fifth round BBC Bristol City v Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United, Liverpool v Ipswich Town ITV Luton Town v Leicester City (LWT & Anglia), Southampton v Wrexham (Southern & HTV), Coventry City v Queens Park Rangers (ATV), Leeds United v Bristol City ((Midweek-replay played in the afternoon shown in all regions) Sixth round BBC Queens Park Rangers v Leicester City ITV Bristol City v Liverpool (LWT Coverage outside region on two non London teams), Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest (Tyne-Tees & ATV) Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest (Midweek rematch & replay shown in all regions) Semi-finals BBC Leicester City v Liverpool, Leicester City v Liverpool (Midweek replay), ITV Burnley v Newcastle United (All ITV Regions)Final Liverpool v Newcastle United Shown Live on BBC & ITV.

References edit

General
Specific
  1. ^ "Glorious and shameful game at Newcastle". The Times. No. 59035. London. 11 March 1974. p. 6.
  2. ^ a b Green, Geoffrey (12 March 1974). "FA Laws or the law of averages may stop Newcastle United in Cup". The Times. No. 59036. London. p. 8.
  3. ^ Green, Geoffrey (15 March 1974). "Decision to replay tie could invite crowds to influence results". The Times. No. 59039. London. p. 12.
  4. ^ Green, Geoffrey (19 March 1974). "The game that lived on its nerves". The Times. No. 59042. London. p. 10.
  5. ^ Green, Geoffrey (22 March 1974). "Newcastle score a deserved victory". The Times. No. 59045. London. p. 13.
  6. ^ The annual ENGLAND v YOUNG ENGLAND fixture is replaced by an F.A. Cup match - the 3rd and 4th Place Play-Off. Archived 27 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Football Site.